A Savage Girl's Reflection

Recently I attended a once of a lifetime opportunity through a professional association that I am a member of. This association that I'm referring to is the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. I've been a member since August of 2004 when I started Tennessee Tech University. We had a wonderful advisor and department head, Dr. Sue Bailey, that encouraged students to join and become part of the association. That's where I got my start with AAFCS. I later became my student unit chapter President and the state student unit Treasurer. This association has always provided me with guidance, new learning opportunities, leadership opportunities, and professional development from my very entrance into the profession of family and consumer sciences. I moved on to becoming a 4-H Youth Development Extension Agent when I graduated college in 2006, but I stayed on as a member of the association since I loved FCS and still wanted to have ties within the field. I moved jobs in the summer of 2009 and finally became a Family and Consumer Science County Agent. This was my "dream job" in the right location area and the right field...who would have thought that at age 24 I would have this opportunity?!? July 6th marks my 4th year being a FCS Extension Agent! Time has flown by!

This year the Director of the School of Human Environmental Sciences, Dr. Ann Vail, at the University of Kentucky encouraged me to apply for the Inaugural Class of the AAFCS Leadership Academy. A little scared and skeptical that I wasn't the "right" fit for the academy....I thought to myself "Why not apply and learn more skills!". I am a leader everyday in my community so this opportunity I thought would be able to help me daily achieve more within myself and the people I serve! My application was selected and  I got into the academy! I recently attended the AAFCS Annual Conference and the Leadership Academy...I just got back yesterday. A little tired but also ready to start blogging I started reflecting and this post evolved very quick.

Boy, did I learn a ton of information in the five days I was at this conference! Here are 5 things I want to share with you that I learned while attending the Leadership Academy and the AAFCS Conference. These are 5 things that anyone can do in their life:

• We should all STRIVE to THRIVE within whatever we choose to do in life. Maybe you don't want to be a member of a professional association like me, but choose something and do it well. Be need to be BRAVE and BOLD and take a stance for our beliefs in order to share our vision.        
• Sometimes in life you may need to change things up a bit, so Consider all your options and opportunities, Communicate your vision and dreams to others to gain a shared outlook, and Collaborate with others around you to reach your fullest potential and to achieve great things with the awesome potential of those on your team since together be are stronger!
• The difference in a Vision and a Hallucination is the number of people who see the dream, so don't forget to Consider, Communicate, and Collaborate with teammates.
• Kouzes & Posner via The Leadership Challenge (2012) say to LOVE what you do in life in order to:  

1. Model the Way
2. Inspire a Shared Vision
3. Challenge the Process
4. Enable Others to Act
5. Encourage the Heart   

• Be the FUTURE. Don't wait for others to lead the way...start now with yourself! "A leader's job is to look into the future and see the organization not as it is, but as it can be." 

While at the Leadership Academy I got the opportunity to do an activity called "speed-mentoring", kinda like speed-dating, in order to find a mentor to help me discover my next adventure within my career and with AAFCS. After many questions and a few short minutes with each potential mentor I narrowed down my list and Joyce Miles became my newest mentor in my collection of awesome leaders for the Savage Girl. I'm super excited about getting to know this lady and having her guidance within A Savage Girl's Life...

  

Last but not least if you are ever in the Houston, TX area you have to try out a restaurant while you are there called The Breakfast Klub. It has awesome southern soul food with great customer service that this Savage Girl highly recommends! It came highly recommended from anyone and everyone I asked while in Houston. "Katfish & Grits" and "Wings & Waffles" are their specialty and a trip to Houston would not be complete without eating breakfast here.

There is always a line at the restaurant, so come early to avoid a long wait if you are in a rush to get back to a meeting like we were. 

Wings and Waffles...breakfast of champions! FYI these are the first deep fried chicken wings/chicken that Savage Girl has eaten in over a year! Yes, they were worth the extra points! 

Some of the Leadership crew that escaped the conference with me for a few hours. 

   

Leadership via Moses

Tonight I was reminded about true leadership while attending a local gospel meeting. Here are seven key things that I learned tonight. 

1. Moses was a man of many successes. His goal was to lead his people out of Egypt and into the Promise Land. He took action within his life and exhibited leadership by allowing God's will to be used within his life. He wondered in the wilderness for 40 years, but he eventually made it to the Promise Land according to Matthew 17:1-4. 
2. Leadership is not "power over people" but it is "power with people". The power and action within leadership comes when we "power WITH people" instead of making things a dictatorship and having "power over people" by telling them what to do. The key is work together to reach a common goal because together we are better than one. 
3. Our differences when working on teams and within groups is what makes us stronger because we become more challenged. When we are challenged we become more vulnerable and we begin to open ourselves up and that is when we begin working through problems and progress is made. Being comfortable is bad, because it shows that we are not open to differences and challenges. Step outside your comfort zone and challenge yourself to something new then you will see your true inner strength. 
4. Experience is how you react to things...not what happens to you. See the beauty in your experiences instead of the cause and effect it might have on the things you might or might not get to do.
5. The worst sin ever...is rebellion! Submission takes wisdom. Moses was helped by his father-in-law, Jethro, to to see that one must submit unto God even if others that are to follow you do not listen and follow your lead (Exodus 18:17-19). We must realize that "here" is damage that has been done. We must realize "why" it is a problem. And then we must take the solution given and do as God would have us do even if no one follows. The key is that we submit and do the will of God otherwise we'll be rebelling like everyone else. This might mean that we have to get out our "Muscle and Shovel" to dig deep to seek out the wisdom of God's word.    
6. We each are responsible for ourselves and only those things that we come in contact with that we can control. We each have choices to make. Others can influence us or make an impact on us, but ultimately you are responsible for you! You can choose to be happy, glad, mad, or sad.  
7. God makes the impossible...possible, the weak...are made strong and righteous, the lost ...are made His children.  As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not (Romans 4:17). 

What is your mission in life? Do you have a vision for your future? Does it include being a leader? Open yourself up and allow yourself to be used by God. A few of my goals this year have been to put God first in my life and to have a servant attitude & give back to others. My prayer is to be a faithful Christian leader and servant while being patient and content while waiting for God's plan for the next stage of my life to be revealed. What's yours? 

That's The Way We've Always Done It.

What is the deal with people who are stuck in a rut and do not know how to get out of it? Just because it has been done a certain way in the past does not mean that is the correct way that it should be done now. I am tired of people saying "that's the way we've always done it". Things change and people change. We need to keep moving forward instead of moving forward then taking two steps backward. Sometimes things are better if they are changed and adapted. I understand this cannot happen overnight, but we need to be open, honest, and stop having back door meetings that are closed just to keep the status quo because that is how it always has been before. I know I am young and sometimes can be naïve. I know I have much to learn. But sometimes not knowing the whole history and background behind something is a good thing!

A wise mentor gave me the button that is pictured here when I got my job in Kentucky. She told me that I would come upon some challenges in my new job, but that I needed to tell people not to expect what has always been done before. Change is good and is inevitable sometimes, so you best make the changes and decisions yourself based on what you want or think is best for the situation. If you do what has always been done in the past and continue the cycle then you will have a huge mess evidentially to cleanup if the cycle is ever broken. The repair mess will be harder to cleanup than the actual planning and development of the initial change itself.
 
This summer I have been given the opportunity to learn more about leadership through an organization I am a part of called AAFCS. I have been selected for a "Leadership Academy" to help mold and train me on “leading yourself and leading others” into the future. This is an elite group of professionals like me and someone saw potential in all of us, so they selected us to be on the team. I took several leadership courses when I got my master’s degree and I have attended numerous in-services on the topic, but I am no expert and never desire to be one on the subject.  I am a lifelong learner who loves continuing my education. I am excited about this opportunity and I am sure you will hear me blog more about this after I get to experience the academy first hand. I am hoping that I will have a new wealth of knowledge to bring back to my community and the groups I work with.   

However, until then here on my thoughts and reflections on teams and leadership.

• Teams work together based on coordination, collaboration, and cooperation under a leader with a little help of delegation.
• I believe that communication is the key to making things happen when you work with teams.
• A good basic definition of leadership is to influence others toward a shared goal.
• Good leaders delegate and trust in the work of their teammates.
• To delegate means to entrust to another.
• We must have trust, which is basically faith, reliance and confidence in others instead of thinking the worst possible scenario. Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is having the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
• As individuals, we cannot do it all and that is the beauty of teamwork and why it was created in the first place!
• Keep in mind that there is no “I” in team.
• We are all to have trust in the Lord and do good (Psalm 37:3). So, if we put our sight on the Lord, turn things over to him, and do good through our works then I am pretty sure that he will help fill in the gaps where there are deficiencies…but we need to have faith.
• In Matthew 7:15-20 Jesus teaches us to watch out for false prophets though.  “Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” As leaders we need to see the good in people and have faith they will help bear the good fruit to help the team reach the common goal. If as leaders we only think our team will bring in bad fruit, then they will bring in bad fruit because we never gave them a chance to reap a good harvest.
• Rome was not built in a day!
• Whenever our leadership roles and teamwork become overwhelming we need to tell ourselves "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13.
• In the end we all need to live by this rule of thumb, "I press on toward the goal to win the prize" Philippians 4:13 because ultimately we should be seeking to be heaven bound. 

Needless to say sometimes I get discouraged when I hear things like "That's the way we've always done it", "That's just how it is here and you'll just have to excuse us" or "I know you don't understand all the ins and outs here, but...". To me these all just sound like excuses for why people do not want to make simple changes that might start to change lives and help improve the quality of lives of people. Yes, I know I've used those lines before and I will be the first to admit it that I am as guilty as anyone else. I am trying too hold to those above thoughts that I have learned from bible studies, college classes, in-services and trainings. I am trying to put those thoughts into practice in my life with the groups and teams I work with. There comes a time when we all need to say enough is enough. When enough people band together and say enough is enough and become one then maybe others will take notice and join the team. 

Life is not always rosy, happy, and sweet like everyone wants you to believe it is. Have you ever noticed on Facebook that people usually only report the happy smiling memories? Sometimes life is real. Sometimes it involves change and making the first move. Other times it involves setting back and doing your own thing while allowing others to do their own thing and hope they realize something needs to be done. We need to have faith that those individuals will see there needs to be change and they need to initiate it. But we need to be the example and maybe one day they will want assistance when they realize they need help. You cannot make people change, they have to want it for themselves. You can lead by your example, encourage, and join a team of like minded people. But the most important thing to do is keep the faith and maybe one day true leadership and teamwork might be in the vocabulary of those around you.